Fossils

How do fossils form and what do they tell us?

An engaging journey for 7-year-olds exploring how fossils form and what these ancient clues reveal about Earth's history.

Check your understanding

1. What is the very first step for a fossil to form?
- A. The animal is painted
- B. The animal is quickly buried
- C. The animal is washed in a river
- D. The animal turns into gold
2. What are scientists who study fossils called?
- A. Biologists
- B. Astronauts
- C. Paleontologists
- D. Geologists
3. Do most fossils look exactly like the original bone?
- A. Yes, they are the same bone
- B. No, most fossils turn into rock
- C. Only if they are dinosaurs
- D. No, they turn into plastic
4. Which of these can become a fossil?
- A. Only dinosaurs
- B. Plants and animals
- C. Only humans
- D. Only fast things

1. If you find a sea shell fossil on top of a mountain, what does that tell you?
- A. The mountain used to be an ocean
- B. The shell climbed the mountain
- C. Someone dropped it there
- D. The mountain was made by water
2. How can a scientist tell if an animal was a meat-eater?
- A. By its color
- B. By its footprints
- C. By looking at its teeth
- D. By its size
3. Why is it so rare to find a fossil?
- A. Most things rot away before moving to a fossil
- B. People keep them all
- C. Fossils are too small to see
- D. Animals hide when they die
4. What does a footprint fossil tell us about an ancient animal?
- A. What color it was
- B. How it moved and behaved
- C. How old it was
- D. What sound it made

Watch the lesson, take the quiz, and ask a safe AI tutor anything about it.